My 2003 Nissan Maxima with 3.5 engine has started requiring additional oil (up to 1 quart) between oil changes which are done religiously every 3,000 miles. Car has 95,000 miles on it & this started @ about 85,000 miles. No visible oil leaks or smoke out exhaust. I bought a 100,000 mile warranty & wondered if there’s a test the Nissan dealer could do to find out if rings are bad, etc? I’m thinking of having the whole car gone over in detail by the dealer before the warranty expires @ 100,000 miles. By the way, my Ford Ranger pick-up with 139,000 miles doesn’t use 1 extra bit of oil. What’s up with the Maxima?
If it’s not leaking it’s burning. There are no other options. The catalytic converter burns up the smoke so you don’t see it. They will say that one quart per 3,000 miles is “within normal parameters.”
I have one vehicle that uses a quart or quart-and-a-half in 5,000 miles, and another vehicle that uses no oil at all between changes.
I don’t think you have a problem. One quart in 3000 miles would not qualify a car for a ring job. Did you change brands of oil recently? Sometimes that makes a difference. I suggest you keep on doing as what you are doing now–use the type of oil specified in the manual and, if necessary, add a quart if it is low.
Thanks for the input. I have switched brands of oil, usually buying the lowest price but staying with brand names, no off-brands or generics. I usually use synthetic oil in the winter since it gets pretty cold here in the upper midwest. Synthetic or “regular oil” seems to make no difference as both usually require up to 1 quart before the next oil change. OK, I’ll just consider it “normal” oil consumption. Again, thanks for the help.